Written by Matthew K. Sharp,
kirseval@werple.mira.net.au
Version 1.1
Revised 1 August 1995
By now, the old format of Anything Anytime was obsolete, all the plots being generated by the actions of the Goodies themselves. The show itself had also evolved slightly, and in this series takes up more seriously the hints of surrealism laid down in series five.
#50 Lips, Or Almighty Cod
Series Six, Programme One
1st BBC Transmission: 21 September 1976
BBC Project Number B11112
The polar fishing limit is extended to include most of Britain and as a result Britain runs out of cod since it's all been caught by the eskimos. The Goodies manage to smuggle one cod back, but it grows into into a giant cod, which goes beserk when it hears Max Bygraves (dont we all?).
#51 Hype Pressure
AKA The Rock And Roll Revival (g)
Series Six, Programme Two
1st BBC Transmission: 28 September 1976
Tim hosts "New Faeces", a non-talent programme which thrives on the judges canning the acts. But when Bill and Graeme actually turn up with something good, Tim is sacked and goes into a trance from the shock. When he comes around, he has flipped and takes TV back to the fifties (he takes off Fawlty Towers and puts on Muffin the Mule. GG: "I always enjoyed Muffin the Mule." BO: "You can get locked up for that."). Tim invites Bill and Graeme onto his new TV programme, but they've moved forward into the sixties, just in time to avoid National Service, and become hippies. They sing a song of peace and flowers, but Tim the director cues things to be dropped on them. Mad with the power of direction, Tim cues World War Two. How do you stop a mad director? With another mad director. But Ken Russell's busy, so Graeme and Bill do it themselves, unleashing a powerful, horrible secret weapon.
Notes: Never shown overseas. It wasn't supposed to be shown on UK Gold satellite TV either, apparently, but accidentally escaped before anyone noticed. BBC Enterprises have no idea this show even exists - they only offer a run of six series six shows to TV stations.
#52 Daylight Robbery Of The Orient Express
Series Six, Programme Three
1st BBC Transmission: 5 October 1976
BBC Project Number B11420
The world's greatest detectives are invited on a mystery train trip arranged by the Goodies, but a series of murders is followed by the theft of the train - the work of a group of Baddies trying to win at the French "Le Boring" competition.
#53 Black And White Beauty
Series Six, Programme Four
1st BBC Transmission: 12 October 1976
BBC Project Number B11583
Graeme's rest home for animals is set to get a fortune - as long as he can get an elderly couple's horse to win the Grand National. Trouble is, it's a pantomime horse filled with Tim and Graeme, and Bill has put all their money on it. It's a good thing all the other horses in the race are pantomime. Or is it?
#54 It Might As Well Be String
Series Six, Programme Five
1st BBC Transmission: 19 October 1976
BBC Project Number B11297
Honesty hits advertising, and the Goodies try promoting string before Bill and Graeme create a monopoly on string supplies.
#55 2001 And A Bit
Series Six, Programme Six
1st BBC Transmission: 26 October 1976
BBC Project Number B11333
The Goodies' sons try to alleviate the boredom with sports in the future by reviving a truly boring game - cricket; but first they must find the sole survivors of the MCC.
The BBC wishes to thank Leisure Services, Torbay, Devon for filming facilities.
#56 The Goodies - Almost Live
Series Six, Programme Seven
1st BBC Transmission: 2 November 1976
BBC Project Number B11580
A concert of musical numbers: Please Let Us Play - Good Ole Country Music - Cactus In My Y-Fronts - Poor Old Soul - The Funky Gibbon - Throwing Up - The Inbetweenies - Black Pudding Bertha - Nappy Love - Bounce - The Last Chance Dance - Wild Thing - The Goodies Theme.
Series Six Technical Crew
* Billed as Geoff Booth in programme 5.
The episodes in this series have become even more outlandish and surreal than in previous years. They also attracted more attention from the censors. In particular, "Rock Goodies" was almost abandoned because of its subject matter, and "Royal Command" was delayed by three weeks as there were two royals in hospital at the time of the original air date. This pushed the final episode, "Earthanasia" back to a special slot two weeks after the series had finished.
Note: The BBC Project Numbers for episodes 3-5 have become mixed up by BBC Enterprises, who list the programmes in order of taping, but the numbers in order of transmission. The listing here gives the correct original numbers.
#57 Alternative Roots
AKA The Goodies Find Their Roots (g)
Series Seven, Programme One
1st BBC Transmission: 1 November 1977
Studio Recording Date: 28 October 1977
BBC Project Number B20517
A tale of the Goodies' ancestors, Kounty Kutie, Keltic Kilty and Kinda Kinky and of the wicked tour operators who rounded them up and sold them off as black and white minstrels.
#58 Dodonuts
Series Seven, Programme Two
1st BBC Transmission: 8 November 1977
Studio Recording Date: 4 November 1977
BBC Project Number: B21057
Bill is trying to protect the world's last surviving Dodo from Tim and Graeme's hunting club by teaching it to fly, using whatever measures he can.
#59 Scoutrageous
AKA Scouting Adventures (g)
Series Seven, Programme Three
1st BBC Transmission: 22 November 1977
Studio Recording Date: 18 November 1977
BBC Project Number B21400 (BBC Enterprises: B21539)
Tim's secret vice is being a boy scout - until scouting is made illegal, thanks to the Masked Scouts intent on collecting every single merit badge up to and including the World Domination Badge.
#60 Rock Goodies
AKA Punky Business
AKA Punkerella (g)
Series Seven, Programme Four
1st BBC Transmission: 29 November 1977
Studio Recording Date: 25 November 1977
BBC Project Number B21539 (BBC Enterprises: B21267)
The Goodies' band is a failure, so they convert to punk and find parallels with the story of Cinderella, with the hand of music reviewer Caroline Kook going to whomsoever fits the leg left behind at the punk ball.
#61 Royal Command
AKA Royal Command Performance (g)
Series Seven, Programme Five
1st BBC Transmission: 6 December 1977
Studio Recording Date: 11 November 1977
BBC Project Number B21267 (BBC Enterprises: B21400)
An update of the Royal Family's image leaves the royals injured and incapacitated, so the Goodies step in. But as the coronation looms, the royals realise it's them out and the Goodies in, and leave their hospital beds, swathed in plaster, to stop the Goodies from taking over.
#62 Earthanasia
AKA The End Of The World Show (g)
Series Seven, Programme Six
1st BBC Transmission: 22 December 1977
Studio Recording Date: 2 December 1977
BBC Project Number B21658
To solve the world's problems, it is agreed to blow it up at midnight on Christmas Eve. The Goodies spend their last minutes trying to come to terms with their inner feelings and forgetting a mass of birthdays.
Series Seven Technical Crew
Outtakes
For several years during the late seveties, it was the practice of the BBC Video Tape department to compile a Christmas tape made up of outtakes and bloopers, and other specially shot material to watch at the end of year parties.
The best of these was the 1979 tape, "Good King Memorex", which, in addition to containing several outtakes from The Goodies, also features segments with John Cleese (from Fawlty Towers) and Dr Who and the Daleks.
#62a Good King Memorex
BBC Christmas Tape 1979
Contains three outtakes from show #63, "Politics", which had been recorded in late 1979.
After a two year break, in which the members of the team went off to try their hand at individual projects, The Goodies returned for what was to be their last series at the BBC. And what a series! Here the Goodies' style of humour is taken even further than before, resulting in several classic episodes; a filling farewell to their ten year connection with the Beeb.
#63 Politics
Series Eight, Programme One
1st BBC Transmission: 14 January 1980
When the entire government and opposition leave the country, Bill and Tim take over as an uneasy coalition goverment. Will this help when they battle against the rest of Europe in Jeux Sans Frontiers for Euro-domination?
Notes: Jo Kendall, who had been associated with TBT, GG and BO during the Cambridge University review days and I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again makes her only guest appearance on The Goodies.
#64 Saturday Night Grease
Series Eight, Programme Two
1st BBC Transmission: 21 January 1980
Tim is locked up after touching a woman at a disco, against the no mixed dancing rules. Bill's Disco Bilius (so exclusive that there are no patrons) runs a mixed dancing competition so that, as there will be no competitors, the prize money put up by the BBC will default to Bill. But the BBC is hanging onto it's money, so Tim is bailed out to win the prize for him.
#65 A Kick In The Arts
Series Eight, Programme Three
1st BBC Transmisson: 28 January 1980
Tim's efforts to help the Olympic team turn him into a criminal. But by changing the rules he assembles a British team that can beat The Rest Of The World - all two of them.
#66 U-Friend Or U.F.O.?
Series Eight, Programme Four
1st BBC Transmission: 4 February 1980
When the aliens come and start kidnapping trombone players, Bill is determined to find out why. But intergalactic peace may be threatened by Graeme's five megaton flying nun.
#67 Animals
AKA Animal Liberation (g)
Series Eight, Programme Five
1st BBC Transmission: 11 Febraury 1980
Animal liberation leads to a documentary about documentary presenters and an animal mutiny when Bill eats the Animal Libber's leader (a rabbit). The only escape is to dress up as rabbits and hope for the best.
#68 War Babies
Series Eight, Programme Six
1st BBC Transmission: 18 February 1980
The year: 1941. The two year old Goodies are asked by a Hitleresque Churchill to go behind the enemy lines on a vital mission (to get a box of cigars) and to create a mechanical Churchill replica to visit the troops.
Guest Cast: Geoffrey Palmer Andrew Ray Sharon Miller Ernie GoodyearSeries Eight Technical Crew
Contents / Introduction / Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5
Last updated April 6, 1996 by
Melinda Casino.
melinda@badger.idiscover.co.uk